


A Little Braver

by HQ_Wingster



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fans & Fandom, Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, Gen, Inspired By Tumblr, Inspired by Real Events, Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 12:18:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12653382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HQ_Wingster/pseuds/HQ_Wingster
Summary: Yuuri is scrolling through Tumblr when he encounters a zine post.





	A Little Braver

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: fandom!au where someone applies for a zine for the first time. please!!!!

Tumblr was a double-edged sword. One moment, Yuuri could scroll down twelve mouse-flicks of vibrant fanarts or soft pastels. One moment, an impending wall of doom covered his computer monitor with just a few words.  _ Zine application.  _ Should he scroll away? Like the post and come back at another time? It wouldn’t hurt to scan the post and see if he’s interested in it.  _ Damn it.  _ Yuuri’s loosened his shoulders, fingers poised to type over his keyboard. He was interested. He wanted to join this zine. Not because he  _ had  _ to, but because...Because it would be worth it.

Perched at the edge of his seat, Yuuri clicked on the writer’s application and read through the FAQ. He qualified. By golly, writing fanfic for the past six years gave him enough material to send, but the zine only needed three stories. Three stories that exemplified his writing style for this particular zine,  _ a space!zine.  _ Yuuri reread the FAQ again, making sure he didn’t skip any of the bullets and reassuring himself that he did,  _ indeed, _ qualify.

_ Okay. I got this.  _ Yuuri wiggled his fingers and began filling out the application. The usual questions scrolled over his eyes. Name, nickname, email, and social medias that the zine organizers could contact him through. Yuuri didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until he managed a sigh when he finally typed out his email and clicked to the next page.

_ Works.  _ Yuuri went onto AO3 and checked out his stories. He had a few WIPs, a few abandoned stories, a lot of oneshots that were too fluffy for his big heart, and some serious pieces that could set him apart from other applicants. But the zine had a limit:  _ three works, two-thousand words or less.  _ Well, that was a challenge. Yuuri’s fingers twitched.

He had some works,  _ long pieces that showed his full tool-set as a writer.  _ Would the organizers be upset if he sent those links in? Would they let him? Yuuri shot an ask through Tumblr’s messaging system. A bit jumpy, he inserted a link to one of his longer works and prayed that the organizers wouldn’t mind. They didn’t have to read the full thing, but just a portion. At least the beginning and if they’re interested, they can read more and learn about Yuuri’s writing style. Or scoff behind a phone screen or keyboard, roll their eyes, and tick him down as a troublemaker. Would they be bias if he did something like that? Unsure, Yuuri took the link off and inserted a more reasonable one.

He scrolled on. Typing vague descriptions of what he intended to do if he got accepted. Breath hitched to the back of his throat, reminding him that he was brave. Yet, Yuuri couldn’t ignore the tinkering voice in the back of his mind that told him he wouldn’t make it. What zine was this? His fourth, his tenth, his twelfth time applying to something like this? All the rejection emails were stored in a separate folder on his Gmail. Reminders that zine rejections didn’t define who he was as a writer, but it still hurt.

_ I want to do this,  _ he told himself.  _ I want to see what happens. _

Yuuri clicked sent and the application went through multiple digital hands before he received a blanket message of encouragement, written by an organizer. He had a week before he learned of his application’s fate.

“If it’s not this time, I can try again.” Yuuri pushed away from his keyboard and scrolled back onto Tumblr. As long as he could still write, another rejection wasn’t going to keep him away from what he enjoyed.


End file.
